#retention

Everything has been mismanaged so badly over the past couple of years that it would take some kind of radical jumpstart, driven by an exceptionally creative and courageous group of people, to propel us upward. And we all know that isn’t going to happen. I survived all the layoffs only to watch a steady decline and neglect of everything that actually matters - how people are treated, retention of talent, development of ideas, attention to creativity and detail, and motivation built on real stakes. Sure, the business may limp along, maybe even grow sales from time to time, but we’ve turned into a run-of-the-mill corporation peddling products. At some point, the question of why we even exist will answer itself.

If you deliver for this company they reward you. But a lot of people are just well meaning dead weight, and they should have been axed years ago.

Maybe stop crying about your misfortune and and go make your own fortune.

I was just wondering if it's common here. When someone puts in their notice at Ford, does management ever try to get them to stay with a better offer on the spot? I haven't seen it happen to anyone on my team, but I know some other companies do it. I'm just curious if it's even a thing they consider.

Gremlins that instead of fostering an environment of positive growth in such a way that you WANT to be here and others from the outside WANT to be part of Citi……

You have gremlin MDs that rely on desperate people that NEED to be here. These are people who are easy to bully, manipulate and whip into servitude and long hours and sacrifice of personal time.

You can’t do that to those that are not desperate. I’ve seen quite a few already financially sound people on solid ground take a look around and “Yeah, no, this is not happening, there’s nothing here of any substance” and leave.

This in itself speaks volumes. The constant pumping out of notice after notice of “tough decisions” , “tough growth”, “hard messages”, “difficult changes” etc… is enough to deter anyone from hiring on to Citi. How do you draw in AND retain truly top talent from the outside given this environment. Sure, Citi can draw in the top talent but retaining them is another thing.

It's getting pretty empty around here lately. Several of the sharpest people on my team just left for much better offers. And if they managed to get better offers in this job market, you know they're good. It's frustrating because a simple, competitive raise probably would have kept them. But I guess that kind of forward thinking is asking too much from this place.

After talking to quite a few of my coworkers and everyone got a 0% or 1% raise. We work in Carlsbad so how do they expect to keep good employees when they don’t take care of them?

I’m a TDP who’s been with AT&T for two years. I’m proud of the work I do, I enjoy my team, and I came into this program excited to grow here. But after two years of watching wave after wave of TDPs walk away, I’m convinced leadership needs to hear this whether they want to or not.

Here’s the reality from inside the program:

Most TDPs enjoy the work. Most enjoy their teams. And most came in valuing the opportunities AT&T could offer.

But the 5 day RTO mandate is the single biggest deal breaker, by a mile.
Not culture. Not pay. Not opportunities.
RTO. Five days. Every week.

The average commute for TDPs is 30–60+ minutes each way, often longer for those assigned to Dallas or Atlanta rotations. That’s 10–15 hours a week spent commuting just to sit on Teams calls we could’ve taken from home, using the same AT&T network we sell to customers for remote productivity.

And us TDPs see what leadership refuses to acknowledge:
Almost every competing employer offers hybrid or remote flexibility with higher pay. Once people finish the program, they leave. Not because they want to, but because staying means burning out.

Culture is not slogans or emails, you can’t speak it into existence. It’s what people feel every day.
And right now, we feel exhausted, unheard, and disillusioned.

That August CEO email laid out “values” that many of us don’t recognize in the company’s actions. The takeaway among TDPs wasn’t alignment, it was the sinking realization that leadership has no intention of returning to hybrid work. Morale tanked after that message and any remaining hope went with it.

If leadership wants to retain talent, real talent, the next generation of engineers, analysts, PMs, and leaders then you need to fix what’s actually broken.

TDPs aren’t leaving because the work is hard.
They’re leaving because the system is broken.

A rigid 5 day RTO policy in 2026, at a telecommunications company that literally sells the ability to work from anywhere, is not just outdated it’s self inflicted brain drain.

You don’t have a recruiting problem.
You have a retention crisis… one that’s absolutely solvable. And if you decide not to change then eventually you'll have no one under 40 working here.

Return to hybrid.
Respect people’s time.
Align actions with the culture you claim to value.

Because here’s the part leadership should really pay attention to:

If you keep the 5 day mandate, you will lose the majority of your young talent.
Not gradually, but all at once.

And I say this as someone who wants to stay. But I, like many others, will be exploring other options next year if nothing changes.

I know this forum may not be the “official” place to say this, but it is the only place where employees feel safe being honest. So I hope someone high enough up reads this and does something before this program and the talent pipeline it feeds collapses under the weight of decisions that never needed to be this rigid.

There is no business case for 5 day RTO.
There is no cultural case.
There is only the cost, and you’re already paying it.

I currently have a strong job offer outside of Target (roughly a 20% raise). I work in Supply Chain in HQ. I’m having a hard time deciding if I should just stick it out through this hard period or if I should leave. It’s with a well established Fortune 500 company here in the Twin Cities. How would you evaluate this with Target’s potential in the future? I’m afraid to jump.

Effective 1/1/2026, UHG/Optum/UHC will reduce the maximum for their 401K match from 4.5% to 3.5%.

In case anyone was wondering if they're trying to get employees to give up and leave.

Title says it all.

There’s some really strange restructuring that’s making very little sense. Poor customer retention this year. Internal and external auditors evaluating engineers specifically, that I’ve heard of. Lots of resources being directed to other projects/departments.

I want to quit so badly and I even have got interviews elsewhere but I’m held back by repaying my tuition. I have one more year for the two years so maybe I’ll just hang on til then. I hate this place so much.

While the plan was being developed to layoff 15,000 people a retention bonus was extended to Sampath and the CFO Skiadas. Each received $4,000,000 in stock. Hans will collect close to $25,000,000 for 2025 and will continue to get paid as an advisory member of the board. Dan's salary is $1,500,000 with long term incentives that will mature to $60,000,000.

Let that sink in while you navigate your job search. For those that have expressed guilt because you still have a job and your peers were let go, ask these execs how they manage to sleep at night. They are making a windfall while others suffer. Sam can speak to this in the next all hands and explain how execs and the front line are treated equally.

https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/11/17/anthem-unitedhealth-emblemhealth-lawsuit-health-insurance/

This is regarding the new People Team internal hiring policy: So if you apply to and get accepted into a new role that comes with a title change and salary increase, it doesn’t take effect until the FOLLOWING YEAR!! What is the logic here? We’ll just keep doing a harder job with more responsibility for the same pay?

The people who are internally marketable are also externally marketable. So much for retaining our high performers!

When will they realize that getting rid of the best people is only harming the company in the long run? The value of institutional knowledge can't be overstated and they just keep throwing it away like it's nothing.

Next Quarter
So, there's a lot going on here… Q3 and we're revving up for Q4… and we're preparing preparing for Q1. you know we have our eyes on the following Q2 and Q3 that comes after that and then that pivotal Q4 kind of ramping out to 2027… pivotal Q1, until 2027 Q2, followed by that Q3 and the Q4, kind of going into 2028 Q1. so there's a lot that we are kind of like laddering up there's a lot, kind of going over and we're gonna make sure that we kind of like we are not boiling the ocean or jumping shark next quarter. Upcoming quarter, also, headcount rebalancing. And talent retention.

Can anyone confirm or deny if they actually got it? I thought only senior leadership and people managers got raises or bonuses last year and this year? It's going to be hard to keep ANYONE on long term let alone the talented people if there's another year with zero extra compensation for 2026.

So, there's a lot going on here… Q3 and we're revving up for Q4… and we're preparing preparing for Q1. you know we have our eyes on the following Q2 and Q3 that comes after that and then that pivotal Q4 kind of ramping out to 2027… pivotal Q1, until 2027 Q2, followed by that Q3 and the Q4, kind of going into 2028 Q1. so there's a lot that we are kind of like laddering up there's a lot, kind of going over and we're gonna make sure that we kind of like we are not boiling the ocean or jumping shark next quarter. And talent retention.

I’m done with RTO for the rest of the year. Seriously. This whole 5 day grind has drained every ounce of motivation I had left. If we aren’t back to a sane hybrid schedule next year, I’m out. No hesitation. No second guessing.

I love my work, I’m good at it, and I’ve given this place more than enough chances to get its act together. But I’m not sacrificing my health, my time, or my sanity for a policy that does nothing but burn people out and push talent out the door.

Fix it or lose the people who actually keep this place running. The clock’s ticking.

Schulman is planning cost cuts that are likely to result in the reduction of about 15,000 jobs, The Journal reported Thursday. Verizon currently employs about 100,000 people.

A source familiar with the situation told The Post that the 15,000 figure is “in the ballpark” and that layoff notices are expected to be sent out to affected employees next week.

Verizon offered $4 million retention bonuses to two top executives — consumer group head Sowmyanarayan Sampath and finance chief Anthony Skiadas — to keep them through at least the end of 2027, according to the Journal.

Schulman told a Wall Street Journal event this week that Verizon needs to get “scrappier and less bureaucratic.”

https://nypost.com/2025/11/14/business/ousted-verizon-boss-could-still-pocket-most-of-20m-salary-as-company-cuts-15000-jobs-report/

Is anyone who received notice in October having any success getting redeployment interviews? I'm not sure if I want to stay or not, but after almost 20 years with the organization, I’d rather stay than start over somewhere else. Honestly, I’m just physically and emotionally exhausted right now.

Honest question, why do you like working at TIAA? There seems to be so much contention about poor management, legacy technology, in office requirements, and vast pay differences.

What is it that keeps you here? Especially those of you that have been here for so long. Are you hoping for things to go back to the good old days?

Honest question, why do you like working at Schwab? There seems to be so much contention about poor management, legacy technology and vast pay differences. What is it that keeps you here? Especially those of you that have been here for so long. Are you hoping for things to go back to the good old days?

What is going with this team? So many leaders have departed and they are unable to retain talent. Place is a mess and it’s enough time to leave.

Quite possibly the worst run school division in America. Gutless leaders who have no concept of how to support the sanctity of the learning environment. Their policy is to literally sacrifice the all for one.

Teacher support and retention is negligible. To make matters worse, their compensation is about 10% lower than it’s surrounding school divisions.

Just look at all the openings on their website. Mess beyond belief. STAY AWAY!

They got love seeing the stock price lately. Probably ecstatic as it means millions less in retention bonuses that will need paid out.

That’s what I plan to do from now on. I’ll give back exactly what I’m given in return. They’ve shown us how little they think of us, so why should I bother giving it my all anymore? My best effort will be reserved for my next company, hopefully one that treats its employees better.

RTO is coming to an end. Productivity is down, morale is worse than ever, and people are leaving in waves for companies that offer flexibility. The younger workforce doesn’t want to live in traffic five days a week, and the veterans are burned out.

Every major study shows hybrid work drives better results, retention, and satisfaction. Forcing everyone back has done the opposite. Billions are being wasted on office space instead of innovation, debt reduction, or employee development.

RTO didn’t build culture or collaboration. It built resentment and distrust. The future of work is flexible, and every company that matters knows it. It’s time AT&T caught up.

I am hearing different views on this. While he has been given a retention bonus, word is that Dan is catching up to the fact that Sampath was the one who was supposed to turn Consumer group around and has not been able to do that. In fact he has misfired a few strategic moves. What do you all think. Sampath is gonna survive or……?!?!?

Client success teammates received an email from Shelley today confirming that return to office 5 days a week applies to us as well. You can understand how taken aback we were considering we only have 2 months to adjust to this new norm. Not sure how they think the entire department will fit in all of the hubs 5 days a week with the space constraints. The worst part is that TM’s hired during and after Covid that lived hours away were told if they lived 50 miles or more they would be fully remote while the rest of us returned to work. Those of us that have been with the company for years that are showing up week after week are making all the sacrifices. How is that fair? Here’s the kicker: when it was Suntrust prior to Covid, we were on a 3 day work week so hybrid was never new to us it was always the norm. Do they not realize that the only thing keeping us here was the work flexibility? With that out the door there is nothing keeping us from jumping ship and looking for something closer with more money. Teammates take a stand together. We need to learn to stick up for ourselves and collectively say “no!” They need us. They can’t fire us all.

If you have been LOYAL to Nokia for the past 15+ years, even without a salary increase for several years, and have stayed with the company because you enjoy the work and want to see Nokia be successful, than Nokia should also be LOYAL to it's employees as well, by keeping the experienced employees employed since telecommunication network product(s) knowledge can't be gained within a few years, but takes years, if not decades to master it (if that's even possible). Once that experienced person is laid off (replaced by a much less knowledgeable person), it will be difficult for the company to make quality products to deliver to it's customers. It may be able to meet the deadline to deliver the product to the customer, but the quality of the product will suffer due to the lack of experienced knowledge. Hence, loss in Billions of dollars in revenue as we have seen in the past with loss of AT&T and Verizon. Will Nokia continue to make the same mistakes by putting quality last (by laying off the older experienced employees)?

….reposting a thread that was deleted for no reason…..

Shell is trying to reduce OpEx by reducing number of engineers in North America (USA and Canada) and offshoring the jobs to cheaper countries like India.

But is it really working? I see TAO folks come here, work for some time in North America, and then go back to India and quit. They go to a competing company at a higher salary.

How does that make sense from cost reduction perspective? And how will all the technical knowledge be retained??

He thanks everyone for an incredible year and all the hard work.

He also says not everyone will receive their full, earned bonus. Some will; others will receive less.

Let me put this plainly, Mr Chief Executive: if employees receive anything under 100% of their earned bonuses, we will lose critical talent with irreplaceable institutional knowledge—losses compounded by past redundancies. They’ll vote with their feet.

Others may stay on, but if they’re paid only 60% of their bonus, expect about 60% effort going forward. Think very carefully about the next move, PD. Can Avaya really afford to lose more legacy talent? Won’t that hobble the plans you and the Board have—plans that reward specific leaders with bonuses tied to a single target?

Think. Very. Carefully.

BNYM has been saying they ‘need’ to layoff employees to cut costs for several Years now. How is this still a valid/acceptable statement???
I’d LOVE to see the financial records supporting BNYMs stance to continuously layoff employees, yet have thousand of open Career Opportunities available. It is costly to hire new employees, and layoffs create a fear based environment. Why isn’t BNYM committed to Develop and Retain employees???

What steps can the new CEO take to stop losing subscribers? What can be done to reverse something that's been going on for a while?

We have several talented leaders considering leaving Canon. I personally know some of them. If any one of these members decides to go, the impact on Canon will be significant. You will not only lose these leaders, but the loyal people who report to them. Be careful, these leaders drive revenue!

An Open Letter to Executives Forcing Return-to-Office

I was hired under the clear promise of being a full-time telecommuter. I delivered as a high performer, year after year, proving remote work was not a compromise but a strength. I built my life — my routines, my family commitments, my finances — around that agreement. And with little warning, you’ve torn it away. Now I’ll sit in an office four days a week, alone, while my team remains remote.

This isn’t “culture.” It’s disregard. It tells me the company’s word means nothing, and that the lives employees built in trust don’t matter when weighed against optics or unused real estate. You’ve broken promises, disrupted families, and drained morale — not because performance demanded it, but because control did.

Ask yourself this: if someone told you tomorrow that your life no longer mattered in the equation — that your commitments, your children, your health, your stability were irrelevant — how would you feel? That is what you’ve told us. That is the message every employee hears in your decision.

The truth is, most of us don’t fully empathize until we are the ones enduring the upheaval. But leadership without empathy is not leadership at all — it’s cruelty dressed up as policy. How do you, as human beings, reconcile dismantling the lives of people who trusted you? How do you justify it when you lay your head on the pillow at night?

You may think workers will comply quietly. But the truth is clear: the best people are leaving — not because they can’t adapt, but because they refuse to be treated as expendable. And when they’re gone, you won’t just have weakened a company — you’ll have to live with the fact that you were the one who broke the trust, dismantled lives, and chose control over humanity. That’s not a business failure. That’s a moral one.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/07/on-precipice-of-incredibly-contracting-workforce-says-jobs-expert.html

Look around, it’s already happening here. They’re trying to force out the 55+ crowd, but instead the under 30 crowd is leaving in droves for companies that actually offer flexibility and trust. Five-day RTO isn’t appealing, it’s a deal breaker.

RTO isn’t saving culture, it’s driving young people out. If AT&T wants to stop the bleeding of “new talent”, it needs to end RTO and start listening before there’s no one left to listen to.

Alright, enough is enough. We’ve been doing 5 day RTO for almost a year now, and things have never been worse. Morale is shot, people are exhausted, and everyone’s sick of wasting time and money commuting just to sit on Teams calls all day.

The under 30 crowd is leaving in droves for companies offering hybrid or remote work because they actually value flexibility and trust. Meanwhile, AT&T is ranked dead last among the major telecom players, and the stock keeps sliding.

Maybe it’s time leadership admits the obvious: this isn’t working!! If the goal was to improve culture, performance, or retention, 5-day RTO has done the opposite. Time to stop doubling down on failure and try something new. If the goal is headcount reduction just have a standard layoff instead of pi----g off anyone willing to stick around. You’re nearing the point of no return.